我开始这项目的契机源自于我对大多数现代 RPG 游戏设计的失望。他们的理念是尽可能的面向更广泛的用户群体，但这样一来反倒把最初催生了这一游戏类型的小众市场给排除在外。……我们带来了《阿斯卡隆》系列，希望通过这款深受过去那些最伟大的作品们启迪，而不是意图颠覆这类题材的 RPG 来缓解这种选择匮乏的境况。

What inspired me to start this project was actually the sheer disappointment that I have felt with the design of most modern RPGs. They are created with the idea of targeting as wide a demographic as possible, and, in doing so, they've shut out the niche market that gave birth to this genre in the first place. [...]With the Eschalon series, we hope to alleviate this lack of choice by offering an RPG that is inspired by the greatest ones of all time rather than trying to reinvent the genre all over again.

Thomas Riegsecker
《阿斯卡隆》作者

Thomas Riegsecker,
Eschalon's creator

技能也存在着严重的平衡问题，有些技能只能在少数情况下使用，甚至有可能在特定地图中才用得上。

正如我们所预料的那样，在 2010 年发行的续作《阿斯卡隆：第二章（Eschalon: Book 2）》中游戏迎来了改善，并且在延用前作更多的内容和添加新内容之间取得了良好的平衡，比如修改了游戏的 UI（所以它现在看起来像是款 1993 年的游戏了）并且在游戏内添加天气。最精妙的新增内容莫过于可自定义的难度等级，还有武器耐久度和饥渴度等选项。

相较之下，发行于 2014 年的《阿斯卡隆：第三章（Eschalon: Book 3）》就像是草草交工了事一般。游戏机制仅做了一些微乎其微的改进，还有一半内容明显没做完，结局匆匆收场而且文本质量急剧下降，这让整个故事显得虎头蛇尾并且令人失望。

Skills also suffer from severe balance issues, as some of them are only used in a handful of situations, or maybe even on just a single map.

As can be expected, the game improves with the sequels: Eschalon: Book 2 was released in 2010 and strikes a good balance between having more of the same and adding new things, like overhauling the UI (so now it looks like a 1993 game) and adding in-game weather. The neatest addition is the customisable difficulty level; this includes options such as weapons wearing down with use, and hunger and thirst meters.

In contrast, Eschalon: Book 3 (2014) feels like it was rushed out the door. Sporting only minor improvements to the game mechanics, the game is clearly only half-finished as the ending comes abruptly and the writing takes a nosedive in quality, to the point of making the whole story anticlimactic and disappointing.

本作游戏的结局让前两作显得毫无关联性，坦率地讲这是不能被原谅的。再加上整体糟糕的画面（注：该系列没有一款游戏支持宽屏分辨率），也难怪作者会忽视掉第三部。

可悲的是，三代糟糕的表现几乎扼杀了对《阿斯卡隆》三部曲更多的支持和善意，成为了压死骆驼的最后一根稻草。

粉丝自制编辑器：

2008 年，《阿斯卡隆》的粉丝社区成员 xolotl 制作了一个非官方的角色和地图的编辑器。编辑器打那时起便得到了 Basilisk Games 的正式认可，而 mod 作者们也已经为《阿斯卡隆：第三章》贡献了许多的小型 mod。

The game's ending goes so far as to make the other two games in the series feel irrelevant, which frankly is unforgivable. Combine that with overall poor graphical support (none of the games support widescreen resolutions) and it becomes clear that the third game was neglected by the developers.

Sadly the poor performance of the third game has all but killed further support and goodwill for the Eschalon trilogy, leaving it hanging by a thread when it needed a lifeline.

Fan-made Editor:

In 2008, an unofficial character and map editor was created by Eschalon’s community member, xolotl. Since then, the editor has been officially endorsed by Basilisk Games, and modders have already created a dozen of small mods for Eschalon: Book III.